


every other life

by daisiesforjjunie



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Brief mention of war, Eventual Happy Ending, First Meetings, Light Angst, M/M, Reincarnation, basically i got the idea from the whole reincarnation thing, basically just how yeonbin met in their different lives, idk how to tag this honestly, it's just yeonbin in their different lives yea yea, loosely based on hotel del luna, yeonbin in 1890, yeonbin in 1940s, yeonbin in 2016, yeonbin in joseon dynasty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:15:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisiesforjjunie/pseuds/daisiesforjjunie
Summary: “I know. Maybe in another life, this would be easier.”Yeonjun chuckled a bit, “would we be together in another life too?”With a small but determined smile, Soobin nodded.“I think we’re together in every other life we have.”
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 136





	every other life

**Author's Note:**

> excuse any historical inaccuracies. i really tried ^-^ appreciate ur kudos and comments!

**_1494_ **

At first, Yeonjun’s parents were not even sure if they wanted to keep their baby. It had been a difficult time for the village, with a lot of the children not even growing past the age of 4 due to untreatable illnesses and just unlivable environments. The two had made plans to move away from the village and find a better place to live, maybe one near the Palace where one of them could hopefully get a job.

Yeonjun was never a part of that plan.

But just like how life was extremely unpredictable, Yeonjun popped out of his mother like a hesitant bundle of joy.

For the first few years, his family barely scrapped by to survive. If it meant having to eat tree bark or plant roots, Yeonjun knew he had to do it. His love for his family ran deep and he never once questioned why they could never afford a better life. He knew the cards that he was dealt and Yeonjun had decided long ago that he would live with it.

Life was difficult for everyone, not just the Choi’s.

As Yeonjun watched nobles and their families pass by their village in carefully decorated carriages, Yeonjun realized that this didn’t always have to be his reality.

When Yeonjun turned sixteen, the dinner table at the Choi’s was no longer just tree barks and roots, they began eating watery kimchi with rice. Yeonjun’s pockets filled slowly every day with a bit by bit of money but never admitting how or where he got it.

Yeonjun’s dad, who started working as a butcher, helped put some meat on the table too. (Even if the ‘meat’ given were just unwanted and probably inedible parts, Yeonjun didn’t mind.)

Yeonjun’s mum, who was never employed, chose to stay home and take care of their tiny home. She constantly wondered where Yeonjun got the little money he did, but she didn’t ever question him. Wherever it was, she just hoped that Yeonjun wasn’t getting into trouble.

-

“Are you sure they’re supposed to pass by here today?” Beomgyu asked, nervously fidgeting behind the bush, “I don’t hear anything.”

“Just wait for it,” Yeonjun replied unfazed.

Yeonjun trusted himself. The red carriage with the ox would come, carrying the usual goods Yeonjun knew it would have. Most of the time it was just cloth and Yeonjun knew the pretty ones he had to pick out so he could sell it off at the yangban village nearby.

He mostly relied on Beomgyu’s cute and small being to sell off the cloth, but for the first time ever, he decided to show the kid how he got the goods in the first place.

Yeonjun had to laugh at the way these nobles transported their goods. Despite always missing a piece or two of their materials, they never bothered to guard the back of their carriages and carts. It made it super easy for Yeonjun to slip in, grab a piece or two and quickly run away from the scene.

Beomgyu had listened to his stories wide-eyed all the time, marveling at his older friend with admiration. Honestly, it made Yeonjun a little proud.

The pitter patter of ox feet and metal clanging alerted Yeonjun. He sat straight up, peeking over the bush. When he saw the carriage, he frowned.

It was usually a small, plain, black carriage. This time, the carriage was much larger and red in colour, with gold embellishments all over it. Yeonjun tilted his head and frowned.

That’s weird, did they change the carriage? Would they be more stuff in it?

“Hyung, is that it?” Beomgyu whispered.

Yeonjun patted the younger boy’s shoulder, not taking his eyes off the carriage, “stay here.”

“But hyung, you said - ”

“Stay here,” he firmly said, holding onto the knife he had lodged in his boot.

Before Beomgyu could argue, Yeonjun stood up and sneakily ran over to the back of the carriage. Swiftly, he swung open one of the doors.

He was not expecting to see two pairs of eyes looking back at him. Yeonjun squeaked in surprise at the sight of the older woman and a boy beside her. The woman was dressed quite nicely, in a familiar long green cloth. Her hair was held up by several pretty gold accessories that framed her shocked face quite well.

The boy beside her was dressed equally as nice, in the same green cloth that adorned the woman. However, it was his sharp facial features that made Yeonjun almost stumble backwards. The boy had dark hair that swept over his soft eyes, porcelain skin and lips that look like they were carved by an expert potter. The boy blinked at him and Yeonjun stared back, a little dazed.

Why couldn’t he breathe properly?

“Hey, who are you?” the woman exclaimed, bringing Yeonjun back to reality.

Sneaking a last glance at the boy, Yeonjun hurriedly threw the door back shut.

“Beomgyu, let’s go!” Yeonjun hollered, beckoning the younger boy to run with him.

Inside the carriage, the boy shot out of his seat and pushed open the door. He squinted at the two figures slowly decreasing in sight as they ran away.

“Close the door and sit back down!” his mother sternly said, “now!”

The boy sighed, closing the door and settling back to his seat. He barely noticed the carriage crawling to a slow stop. His mother spoke feverishly with the rider of the carriage, chastising him for not noticing the kid who almost entered their carriage.

When his mother was done scolding the rider and settled back down calmly, she faced her son with a grim look on her face.

“We have to be careful when we’re around these parts,” she said lowly, “there might be bad people trying to steal or rob us. Promise me you’ll be careful and stay away from them?”

When the boy didn’t reply, his mother shot him a pointed look.

“Soobin, do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother.”

-

Soobin knew his mother’s concerns were well-intentioned, but he felt as if she was being a little prejudiced.

Of course she was, Soobin sighed to himself.

That’s just how it was. Being the son of a wealthy military officer made Soobin’s life extremely easy for him. He never had to worry about food on the table or if his shelter was strong enough to withstand violent weather. He knew how to read and write and had dozens of books eagerly waiting to be read and reread.

One day, Soobin was expected to follow in his father’s path as an officer. His sister would probably marry into another rich military family and his parents probably had a girl in mind for Soobin already.

Their comfortable and well-off lives made it easy for them to look down on the poor, especially the cheonmin’s. He had seen the way his sister or older brother would scoff at the poor. Soobin wanted to be different. He wanted to be like one of the kind people in his books who helped them out instead.

So that was how Soobin ended up at the village, hiding two packs of food under his clothes. On second thought, Soobin began to regret wearing his best clothes to the village. Random strangers were staring at him and it made Soobin’s skin crawl a little. He shriveled, trying to make himself smaller as he continued looking out for the familiar boy.

_This isn’t one of my best ideas,_ Soobin thought, _this village probably has hundreds of kids! How am I going to find him?_

Soobin almost caught himself swooning as he remembered the boy.

The mysterious boy who had left such a big and heavy impression on Soobin for days, even keeping him up at night. Soobin couldn’t get his face out of his mind – maybe it was the way he had never seen those fox-like eyes before or the plump, full lips. Either way, Soobin couldn’t stop thinking about him. He noticed the raggedy clothes the boy was wearing and how hollow his cheekbones were. The boy had to be hungry.

And yeah, Soobin wanted to know why the boy opened the door to his carriage but ran away just as quickly. He was a little bit curious about that too.

It took Soobin two hours of wandering around the village before he finally gave up. Soobin stopped in front of a small house, finding a huge rock to rest on.

His feet were not used to this much walking and he was sure his soles were full of blisters. It hurt to walk any further, which made Soobin sigh with defeat and flop onto the rock. He removed the two bags of food from under his clothes and placed them beside him, the food all long gone cold already. Soobin massaged his feet gently.

He closed his eyes for a bit, just to rest them.

“Who are you and what are you doing in front of my house?”

Soobin yelled with surprise, flinching so hard he jumped in his seat. He looked up at the voice and felt his heart stop.

It was _him._ Just as Soobin remembered.. just as pretty?

Soobin wanted to say something, but his brain was suddenly all jumbled up and incoherent as he stared up at the boy in front of him. He moved his hands around blindly as he tried to find the bags of food.

“Carriage,” Soobin dumbly said, holding up a pack of food towards the boy.

He raised an eyebrow, squinting down at Soobin.

“Huh?”

“You.. you’re the boy who opened our carriage, right?” Soobin finally managed to say, “I wanted to give you this.”

Yeonjun’s eyes flew wide open and he gasped, grasping his basket a little tighter.

“What’s that?” Yeonjun cautiously asked.

“ _Mandu,_ ” Soobin replied slowly, “for you and your friend. Or brother. Or whoever was with you.”

The older boy looked down at him incredulously, “why are you giving me this? Is there poison or something? Is this because I opened your carriage? Are you trying to kill me?”

“What?” Soobin’s voice raised an octave, “why would I kill you for that?”

“I don’t know!” Yeonjun exclaimed, “why would you give me _mandu_ then?”

Soobin looked away from him, “you look like you needed it.”

Yeonjun frowned, slightly taken aback. He did remember how hungry he was that day, having not eaten anything for a while. His father, who was also falling ill, recently got sacked from his job at the butchers. Yeonjun’s family decided to cut back on their meals while his father looked for a new job despite his illness. Yeonjun’s cheeks were hollow from hunger and his lips were dry and cracked.

“You don’t even know who I am,” Yeonjun said quietly, “why would you care?”

“Do I have to know you to help?” Soobin asked softly.

Surprise flooded Yeonjun as he looked down at the boy sitting in front of him. Something tugged at his heart and something else in his stomach fluttered when Soobin looked up at him.

For the first time in a while, Yeonjun let his guard down. Peering into the boy’s warm brown eyes, a voice in his head told Yeonjun to trust him.

Yeonjun settled down onto the ground in front of the boy, crossing his legs as he took the bag of food. He quickly ripped it open, letting the smell of homemade dumplings fill his nose. Yeonjun’s stomach growled loudly as he picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth.

Soobin just watched quietly, smiling softly.

“My name is Soobin,” he bowed slightly.

“Yeonjun,” the older boy said, his voice muffled by the dumplings in his mouth.

The younger boy laughed, his eyes disappearing into crescent moons and his dimples poking into his perfect skin. Yeonjun felt his heart skip a beat.

-

Yeonjun learned that he loved the way Soobin laughed.

It wasn’t hard to make the younger boy laugh, but every time he succeeded in doing so, Yeonjun would feel a burst of pure happiness shooting through him.

Truth was, Yeonjun just loved it when Soobin was happy.

And Soobin was only really happy whenever he was with Yeonjun.

Their secret meetups suddenly became the only thing Yeonjun could ever think about. The lake in between Soobin’s and Yeonjun’s village became their little secret, a small place where the two could freely laugh, run around and talk as if they weren’t divided by their status. Over there, Yeonjun wasn’t a thief and the son of two cheonmin’s. Soobin wasn’t the son of a high-ranking military official.

They were just Yeonjun and Soobin.

When Soobin’s father grew suspicious of his son’s disappearances every few nights or so, Soobin should’ve been more careful. He should’ve planned their meet-ups less frequently and been more careful when sneaking out of his home. However, his mind was always too clouded with Yeonjun to ever think properly.

It was a quiet night at the lake, the body of water shining beautifully as the two boys sat next to each other. Yeonjun was munching on some dumplings, his cheeks full of the tiny delights. Soobin secretly stole long glances at the boy, giggling at how funny he looked with his puffed up cheeks. Yeonjun heard his little giggles and frowned playfully at him.

“I know, I’m very nice to look at,” Yeonjun joked, the food in his mouth making it impossible for Soobin to understand him.

Soobin smacked Yeonjun gently on the arm, “finish the food in your mouth first, _pabo.”_

“Hey, who are you calling _pabo_?” Yeonjun exclaimed, bits of food flying from his mouth.

“Choi Yeonjun,” Soobin chortled, pushing the older boy away from him, “you’re so gross.”

Yeonjun purposely leaned more into Soobin, “mmm, but you love me.”

On a normal day, Soobin would’ve continued to laugh and smack Yeonjun on the shoulder roughly.

However, the universe thought that everything should be different tonight.

He swallowed the lump in his throat when he heard Yeonjun’s words, gripping the edge of his sleeves tightly. Yeonjun noticed Soobin’s sudden silence and stopped joking around, staring wide-eyed and innocently at him.

“Did I say something?” Yeonjun asked, careful of Soobin’s sudden frozen figure, “was I being too gross? Okay, okay, I’ll chew and eat before I talk.”

Soobin didn’t reply. Instead, he chose to focus on the piece of mandu just dangling below Yeonjun’s lips. _What an idiot_ , Soobin thought to himself _, why do I feel this way about him?_

“What? What are you staring at?”

Reaching a hand up, Soobin slowly wiped at Yeonjun’s lip. Yeonjun held his breath, his eyes widening as he watched Soobin’s own trail up from his lips to his eyes.

The night was quiet except for the sound of insects and the gentle waves of the lake. Soobin was sure that Yeonjun could hear how loudly his heart was beating.

When Soobin moved to put down his hand, Yeonjun quickly snatched it back up. The younger boy was about to let out a noise of surprise when he was silenced by Yeonjun pressing his lips onto Soobin’s.

Everything in the world stopped moving. The only thing Soobin could feel was Yeonjun and Yeonjun only. The only thing he could feel and hear was the boy in front of him. Unsure of what to do, Soobin just pathetically gripped onto Yeonjun’s sleeve.

Yeonjun pulled away after a few seconds, his eyes fluttering open as he leaned his forehead on Soobin’s. His shoulders heaved up and down, as if he was just done running across villages.

“Yeonjun hyung,” Soobin whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Yeonjun said quietly, “I know we’re not supposed to do this but Soobin-ah, I can never stop thinking of you. Every day, my thoughts are just filled of you and your smile and your pretty eyes.. I have never felt this way about anyone before. I just.. I want to be with you. Always. I don’t know what is this that I feel, but I just know that I want to be with you forever.”

Gripping Yeonjun’s clothes tighter, Soobin nodded frantically.

“Me too, hyung, me too,” the younger boy gushed, “I want that too.”

Yeonjun smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a bit pained too.

“But we can’t, you know that right, Soobin-ah?”

Soobin pulled away from Yeonjun but moved to hold the older boy’s hands. His hands were just as warm and comforting as Soobin imagined, as if their hands were meant to be held together.

“I know. Maybe in another life, this would be easier.”

Yeonjun chuckled a bit, “would we be together in another life too?”

With a small but determined smile, Soobin nodded.

“I think we’re together in every other life we have.”

**_1880_ **

Dozens of kids gathered at the village square, squabbling excitedly with each other as the oldest member of the pack waited for the last kite to fall.

This was their biggest kite flying competition yet and Yeonjun knew his would definitely win. Not only was he the oldest out of everyone, but his kite just had that ‘oomph’ no one else had. He would have to thank his dad for that.

However, his confidence grew slimmer and slimmer as he noticed the green kite going strong beside his own red one. He frowned, looking over to see who that kite belonged to.

Yeonjun laid his eyes on a boy with an awkward bowl cut and extremely chubby cheeks. His dimples were in full effect as he was giggling, showing off how strong his kite was to his friends around him. Even though Yeonjun hated that someone else could win, he felt his heart go warm when he saw the boy’s cute smile.

What a cutie, Yeonjun thought to himself.

Eventually, the boy’s kite dwindled down, getting caught in a tree nearby. Yeonjun burst into victory when it happened, punching the air with joy. His friends celebrated with him, patting him on the back roughly. Looking over his shoulder, Yeonjun’s smile dropped when he saw the boy looking up sadly at his own kite.

Although the boy was pretty average sized, the tree was too tall for him. He would never be able to get the kite that was stuck snugly in between branches high above. The boy tried to climb the tree only to slide back down immediately.

Yeonjun huffed, feeling back for the boy. Breaking apart from his little celebration circle, Yeonjun ran over towards the boy. When he got closer to the kid, he realized he was crying.

“Hey, you want me to get the kite for you?” Yeonjun asked, pointing up at the culprit who was making this cute boy cry.

The boy stared back at Yeonjun, his dimples visible even while he was crying. He nodded soundlessly, prompting Yeonjun to turn around and face the tree.

Scrunching his eyebrows, Yeonjun carefully scaled the familiar tree. He didn’t look down and continued to climb the tree quickly and swiftly. Once he could reach the top branches, he grabbed hold of the kite’s string and tugged it down. The kite flew away from the tree and floated down to the ground, in front of the boy.

The boys’ friends cheered around him, greeting Yeonjun with excited smiles and pure awe. However, Yeonjun could only focus on the deep dimpled boy.

“I think yours would win if it didn’t get caught in the tree,” Yeonjun tried to console him.

Shrugging, the boy just sent a small smile to Yeonjun.

“I’m okay with losing, I’ll just try to make it as strong as yours.”

Yeonjun laughed, giving the boy a thumbs up.

“Good! I’ll teach you how to make a stronger one, my dad taught me. I’m Yeonjun!”

The boy grinned wider, “I’m Soobin!”

**_1938_ **

****

The bunk room was filled with rowdy and loud men, ready to prove themselves and fight proudly for their country… and then there was Soobin.

Huddled in his bottom bunk, Soobin tried his best to make himself smaller than he was. Hell, that was difficult when Soobin was only eighteen yet 185cm tall. Still, he hugged his backpack closely to his chest. The noise in the room was making him more on edge than usual and he was growing even more anxious as he watched the men around him move around the room.

Soobin tried to close his eyes and even out his breathing, telling his brain to stop thinking so much and his muscles to relax.

“Hey, new kid.”

Soobin almost flew from his seat on the bed, bumping his head on the top bunk in the process.

“Ow!”

“Shit, sorry!”

He opened his eyes to see a guy around his age dangling his body down from the top bunk, his head peeking upside down.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the guy cheekily said, his fox-like eyes creasing with glee.

“It’s okay,” Soobin softly said.

The guy stared at Soobin for a moment, his face furrowed in confusion.

“Do I know you? I feel like I know you.”

Soobin stared back at the guy in front of him and shook his head stiffly. What was he on? Soobin was sure he would remember if he met someone who looked like him. He was too striking to forget.

“Hmm,” the guy shrugged. He disappeared back to his bunk before swinging his entire body down, jumping onto the floor below them. Squatting down, he held a hand out to Soobin.

“I’m your bed buddy, Yeonjun. Welcome to World War 2, bed buddy.”

Soobin smiled softly, “I’m Soobin.”

****

**_2016_ **

Yeonjun dropped his backpack on the floor, sighing as he leaned back to stretch his arms. The unusually quiet practice room made Yeonjun feel a bit uneasy.

_Where was everyone?_

Before Yeonjun could whip out his phone and text the trainee groupchat, he heard the pitter patter of someone’s feet.

“Yeonjun hyung!” Taehyun burst into the room, a big grin etched on his small face, “why are you late?”

Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, “I had extra Math classes today.”

Taehyun clicked his tongue and beckoned him excitedly, “hurry, come to the meeting room! I think there’s a new trainee!”

_New trainee?_ Yeonjun thought to himself, _wow, Bighit was reeling in more and more boys every week._

The two teens quickly made their way out of the practice room and up to the small meeting area above their studios. It was quite rare for the company to call a meeting, so Yeonjun was wondering what all the fuss was about. Was this trainee someone famous? Was it one of the trainees from a survival show or something? Maybe it was an ex-trainee from SM Entertainment.

Yeonjun’s mind reeled with theories, even as he opened the door to the meeting room.

When he stepped into the room, Yeonjun’s eyes scanned over the dozen familiar boys. His eyes stopped at a tall, upright figure sitting at the middle of the long table.

The boy had dark black hair, porcelain skin and even while he was not smiling, Yeonjun could see dimples on both sides of his face. His soft dark eyes blinked slowly as he chewed nervously on his perfectly shaped lips. He was sitting straight with his chin held high despite his nerves, his hands perched calmly on top of his bag in front of his chest. Feeling Yeonjun’s intense gaze on him, the mysterious boy looked up.

Yeonjun felt his heart stop. He blinked back at the boy, wondering who would make the first move.

Then the boy smiled.. and Yeonjun somehow found it almost way too familiar for him.

“Hi,” the boy awkwardly waved, “I’m Soobin.”


End file.
